My Love
by isabelladee
Summary: Gwen and Arthur's life after the wedding and coronation. Love, heartbreak, love again... and yes, action for you adrenaline seekers;    rating may change as story progresses Enjoy.
1. Little Gwen

I arranged the roses meticulously. A little girl, probably no older than 9, stood anxiously in the corner of the room with her eyes cast down.  
>I sighed rather loudly and she jumped in surprise, glancing up at me shyly under her golden auburn curls. They weren't dissimilar to my own, coiled together in knots to form a bun at the back of her head, with a few stray ringlets hanging loosely on either side of her face. I walked over to her quietly, and she curtsied low. I rested a hand on the little servant's shoulder, and leaned down effortlessly so that I was at eye level with the petite child. Her eyes widened in surprise when I placed two fingers under her chin and tilted her face up to look me straight in the eyes, effectively bringing her out of the silly curtsy. I remembered then that due to her low 'status', I had to be the one to speak first.<p>

"Hello sweetheart. Are you here to help me dress for this evening's event?" I smiled warmly at her.  
>"Yes, my Queen." I realized then that she must be more than 9, as my usual girls were around 21, like myself. I chuckled lightly to myself.<br>"Has the King asked for you to help me dress?"  
>"Yes, my Lady. He asked me to keep you company also. Forgive me, my Lady, but I am a little bewildered. I have never been asked to keep anyone 'company' before. I do not know what it means."<br>I grinned. She smiled a little, which made my own a little larger. "Oh that's okay, sweetie. What the King meant was to, perhaps chat with me while I dress. You see, I do not like the way servants are treated around here, and my husband knows that I'd rather someone to converse with me instead of take orders. Was he polite to you when he asked?" Oh Arthur, he knew me too well.  
>"Oh yes, my Lady. Ever so polite, I did not even know he was the King!" She chuckled a little and her eyes sparkled.<br>"Wonderful! Well, would you like to help me choose a dress for tonight?" I stood up and offered her my hand.  
>She hesitantly took it, and I squeezed it comfortingly. She gingerly squeezed back and smiled up at me.<br>"May I ask, what your name is little one?"  
>"My Queen, my mother is a very… all-knowing woman. She named me after yourself, for she knew you were to be a great Queen one day." I was shocked; I recognized this little Guinevere's face.<br>"And your mother's name?" She looked confused for a second, then recovered and blurted it out.  
>"Elaine, my Lady." I gasped; Elaine, my old friend. I had not seen her since I was eleven, she was fifteen. Just ten years ago.<br>"Miss Guinevere," I looked down at her blue eyes. "Are you at the age of nine right now?" She took in my words for a second, and then nodded.  
>I grinned outright. She smiled a little, probably to hide her confusion. "Your mother was my best friend. About nine years ago I came to Camelot to look for work, which I found. As a maidservant for the Lady Morgana," I choked on those last words a little. "And had to leave your mother behind at our old village."<br>"My Lady, you were not born royal?" She asked hesitantly. I shook my head quickly.  
>"No darling. I was a servant for the late King's ward, up until the King- Prince Arthur at the time- and I fell in love. The late King Uther did not approve at all of our relationship, and at times I felt as if it was all a fantasy. Once Arthur became King, he knelt on one knee and asked me to marry him." I sighed happily at the memory. Little Gwen was watching me with wonder.<br>"That is so romantic. I do wish that I one day find love like yours, my Lady."  
>I hugged her gently and smiled as she wrapped her arms around me. "You will, don't worry. Now, let us choose a dress!"<br>My excitement about Elaine did not wear off that evening, and while little Gwen was tightening my corset I turned slowly.  
>"Gwen," her eyes sparkled sweetly at the use of her nickname. "Would you be ever so kind as to escort me into the village tomorrow? I have a few errands to run."<br>She nodded and grinned excitedly. "Yes, of course my Lady! Um, would you like to see my home? My mother will most probably be cooking. She owns a little shop now, we only moved here a few weeks back and already she has made a name for herself." She blushed at her boasting. "I mean, the people of Camelot enjoy her cakes."  
>I laughed. "How wonderful! I cannot wait."<br>That whole afternoon with little Gwen I was deliriously happy. My thoughts of the festivities for mine and Arthur's one year wedding anniversary meddled with my excitement over meeting the daughter of my best friend caused me to skip around my chambers while Gwen watched on in amazement.

My dress was indeed beautiful, and less than five minutes before I was meant to leave for the party, Arthur walked into our bedroom with a glowing smile on his face.

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><p><strong>Thank you for reading and reviewing,<br>appreciated muchly.**

_x, Isabella._


	2. Queen for the night

My heart swelled. I let go of little Gwen's hand and ran to Arthur's open arms, diving into them as he rested his face in the crook of my neck.  
>He breathed a sigh of relief. "Guinevere. I've missed you."<br>I scoffed. "Arthur, it's only been two days." He pulled his face away and met my brown eyes.  
>"Forty-eight hours too long, my Queen." The adoring look on his face stole my quip remark. My breath caught in my throat for a moment until I realised we had company.<p>

Little Gwen had dropped yet again into a low curtsy, no doubt straight after I'd left the bed and ran to Arthur. Reluctantly, I let go of him and gestured to Gwen.  
>"My Lord this is little Guinevere," one of his eyebrows rose up speculatively. "The sweet thing you asked to keep me company while I dressed." Recognition flooded across his beautiful features. He quietly walked over to her a mirrored my earlier stance, dropping in a crouch to her height and waited for her to look him in the eye. She didn't, and he smiled warmly.<br>"Well, little one. I see you came through on your task," A glimmer of happiness tweaked in the left eye I could see, and once little Gwen lifted her face a little more, I was sure she could see the pleased look on his face. Finding her confidence, she smiled a little back and nodded her head slowly.  
>There was a proud note in my voice as I said, "Guinevere is the daughter of my old friend, Elaine," I blushed a little. "And she has told me that her mother named her after me, as she believed I was to be a great Queen one day." Arthur turned and grinned at my red cheeks. Looking back at little Gwen, he clucked her affectionately under the chin.<br>"Your mother seems very right; do you think that the Queen here is good at her duty?"  
>Gwen smiled. "Yes, very much so my Lord, I am proud to be named after her." She looked at me then from under her lashes and gave me a knowing smile. It reminded me so much of Elaine, I was amazed to have found a connection to her.<br>"Well, little Gwen," said Arthur. "I am afraid the Queen and I must go." He pulled out a sugar sweet. "We thank you kindly for your help today." Her eyes lit up excitedly. She carefully took the sweet, curtsied to both of us, and ran from the room. Her long blonde hair trailing after her, as she most probably went to go tell her friends of her afternoon.  
>Arthur stood from his crouch and walked over to me. Like he had done with Gwen, he put his hand in his pocket and rummaged around for something. When he found it, another grin lit his face.<p>

I smiled as he pulled out a small beautiful yellow flower. Tucking it between my ear and my curls, he kissed the tip of my nose sweetly. He put both of his hands on my cheeks and looked me in the eye.  
>"I found that flower on my travels. As I recall, one of the old women of that village called it a dandelion. She said it meant 'courage' and I thought of you. Courageous Queen Guinevere with the dandelion crown." He grinned at his words.<br>I placed a warm hand over his on my cheek. "Thank you, Arthur. It's beautiful." I could have told him it works perfectly with my dress, but I remembered he was a man. He would not care for such a mundane observation.

"It suits your dress, my Queen." His eyes were blazing with love, and I was pleasantly surprised that he had noticed. True, the neckline was lower than all my other dresses, the sleeves a little shorter. I figured Arthur just appreciated the lack of cloth covering my olive skin.

But his eyes never wavered from my own. I pecked him lightly on the lips and pulled his hands from my face. Linking my arm through his, he led me out of our chambers and off towards the great hall. Time to become Queen Guinevere; plain Gwen was gone, but only for tonight.

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><p><strong>Thank you for reading.<strong>

_x, Isabella._


	3. Sense of content

The twittering lights, the flurry of ladies skirts, the soft hum of incessant chatter reminded me so much of the festivities after Arthur became King.

***  
><em>"Stand, noble people, I hope to serve you as you have done my father."<br>The crown had been lowered carefully onto Arthur's blonde head. He hid it well, but I could see plainly the nervous glint in his eyes, almost hear the thudding of the butterflies constricted in his stomach. To be fair, I was feeling that way too. The priest hesitantly walked around the back of Arthur and retrieved the other crown from its pillow, I braced myself. Arthur looked over at me from his red plush throne and winked. I breathed in a deep breath and waited... And waited… And waited.  
>After what felt like hours but I knew was only a few short seconds, the priest gingerly rested the cold metal onto my head. My curls did nothing to ward off the freeze of the silver, and I shivered slightly as I felt it touch the top of my forehead.<br>My fears and doubts washed away swiftly as I saw from the corner of my eye Arthur's breath taking smile. His eyes gushed with pride and exultation that lingered in his blue eyes for a moment, and then made way for something much more beautiful- love.  
>Less than a second later, everyone in the room were clapping and even gushing with happiness themselves as the priest announced Camelot's new King and Queen. One particular person caught mine and Arthur's attention- Merlin, standing at the back of the room with Gaius, clapping and beaming at the sight before him. I blushed bright red and smiled knowingly at Gaius, he simply shook his head in exasperation at Merlin's joy and winked at me affectionately.<br>Another second had passed and Arthur took hold of my right hand in his left, and looked me in the eyes. The clapping stopped and the chatter quietened.  
>"By the sacred laws invested in me, I pronounce you Guinevere, Queen, of Camelot." Tightening his grip in my hand, Arthur pulled me effortlessly from the chair and presented me to the people crowded in the room.<br>Another round of clapping ensued, and I did my best to ignore the few royals that looked at both Arthur and I in disgust. It turned out to be quite easy, once I realised Arthur was again looking at me, I looked back into his eyes and forgot the people around me. All I saw was his beautiful eyes boring in mine, the slight twitch of a smile that threatened to break across his face. I lived for those smiles; the rarity that was them brought great happiness to everyone in a ten metre radius of him. So, focusing on him, the flickering lights flared behind him and framed his face beautifully.  
>He was my King, and now, I was his Queen.<br>***_

Seeing all of it now, a wonderful sense of contentment flooded over me. My eyes met Arthur's and from what I could see, he was thinking the same thing.

As usual, once we'd made ourselves known in the hall, everybody dropped their heads, fixing their eyes to the floor and the women stood low in a curtsy. My content turned to discomfort, and Arthur patted my hand sympathetically obviously sensing it. I suppose it wasn't hard to tell, my cheeks had reddened a deep crimson and my knees threatened to run me to the nearest person and ask them to stand up. But Arthur had once told me it was only expected, and that it had been done for thousands of years prior. I told him I would have that changed, and he'd given me a small smile and a kiss to the cheek.

My eyes scanned the room, and just happened to rest on the little Guinevere. Dropped in a curtsy behind her, a reasonably young woman with thick chestnut waves of hair cascading down her back hesitantly raised her eyes to mine. I gasped, the young beauty was Elaine.

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><p><strong>Can anyone guess who little Gwen's father is?<br>I'd love to hear your theories:)**

**Thank you all for your reviews over the past few days, I hope that I can add in and answer the questions you've asked me.  
><strong>

_x, Isabella._


	4. 3 hours sleep

**Chapter 4 is up! (:  
>Aw guys I'm so sorry it's taken so long for me to update.<br>School is almost over now, one week to go and I have two weeks of updating (:  
>I hope you enjoy this chapter, took me ages to write it (writer's block, pretty much) so tell me what you think of it and if it needs any alterations. Constructive criticism is much appreciated, I have not decided if I want a Beta reader yet, but if anyone is or knows a good Beta for me, I'd love to look into it!<br>Thaaaanks, 3**  
><strong>P.S- Not sure what to call this chapter. Can anyone give me any ideas? I like it to tie in with the chapter like my other ones so if anyone would like to review a name or PM me, please do so.<strong>

That night seemed to pass in a blur. Just like when I walked into the room, the flurry of skirts, the chatter and the booming laughs of the middle-aged men with their shy young brides by their side lulled me into a sort of other world. A quiet world, where all I did was think. Think about Elaine, about Arthur, about little Gwen. Only when someone approached Arthur and I with a gift or a hesitant greeting did I manage to pull out of this world and address them appropriately.  
>I was in this zone until the final person to greet us of the night was my brother, Elyan. He had an anxious look in his eye, something I'd never seen before. I was so used to him being on guard and stoic, and even when Arthur clasped his shoulder and praised his for his work when they'd been on that two-day trip that he managed to rid his face of the emotion.<p>

"Elyan! We have not seen you all evening, what have you been up to?" Elyan sighed in relief a little that the King had no noticed his worry, but when he glanced at me, he knew the Queen had. He knew his sister could tell if anything was wrong. Remembering the manner's that he shouldn't have to use on his own sister, he knelt a little and took my hand, lowering his eyes obediently and kissing my hand softly. I had the urge to pull it away from him, but knew it would raise curiosity among the guests. The Queen pulling her hand away from a greeting? Unheard of, apparently. Turning his attention quickly on Arthur he bowed his head a moment and brought his eyes up to Arthur's.

Oblivious to everything going on in front of him, Arthur laughed and clasped his hand once again on Elyan's shoulder. "Well?" He asked, Elyan hadn't answered his question.  
>"I'm sorry my Lord, I have been speaking to an old friend. Are you in need of my services?"<p>

Arthur chuckled, "No, if you would like you may retire to your chambers now. You look fatigued." Elyan nodded.  
>"Yes, m'Lord, thank you." He bowed his head for a second, then turned and left quickly.<br>Arthur turned to me, confusion written all over his face. "That was unusual." I nodded, linked my arm through Arthur's and set off to off to say goodbye to everyone. Most people had left, so my duties were not needed for much longer than half an hour.  
>I could tell Arthur was as relieved to leave the party as much as I was, I knew that he probably got no more than a few hours' sleep on his trip, he came back to Camelot and had to go straight to the party. Once we were out of sight, I reached for his hand and led him to a small alcove. In the dim lighting of the little cove, I could see the faint blood shot lines in his eyes glowing in the darkness, a deep purple rimmed underneath that was very close to his upper cheekbone. Reaching my left hand up, I traced my thumb across the inch long line.<p>

"How many hours were you able to sleep, m'Lord?" I lifted my eyes to his.  
>"Three. Guinevere you mustn't call me that, you are my wife. My Queen." He pleaded with me.<br>"And you must not change the subject. Why have you gotten such little sleep, Arthur? Were your duties so important you could not close your eyes for more than a few hours?" A faint smile appeared on his face.  
>"Three hours is fine. You must not worry about me, Guinevere. I am feeling alright, but how were you while I was away?" The little smile was still there, but concern flooded across his features. I smiled back in reassurance, always one to be worried about me.<br>"Nothing is the matter with me, I am rather happy right now. If you would like to make me happier, I'd walk up those stairs to the bedroom and go to sleep." My thumb was still tracing his cheek bone, and I slid it down slowly, resting it under his chin.  
>I tilted it down so that he was no longer looking over the top of my head.<br>"Arthur Pendragon, next time you come home I would like something from you." I grinned. He didn't know what I was talking about.  
>"And what, my Lady, would that be?" He'd caught on after a few seconds, a humorous glint in his eyes.<br>"Oh, just this…" I leaned forward and closed the small distance between Arthur and I. Touching my lips softly to his, my hand instinctively went to his cheek and his to mine. I smiled beneath his warm lips, he opened his mouth slightly and a gust of hot breath washed over my tongue. I shivered.  
>He traced a line with his index finger from my temple to my chin, where he stopped and took it roughly between his thumb and fore-finger. Pulling back from my lips, he was breathing heavily.<br>"If I have that to come home to, never will I forget." The seriousness in his voice stole my breath, which wasn't making staying alive any easier since my breathing was as ragged as his. Placing a hand over my heart, I felt its quick beats. Even after a year of marriage I was not used to all this affection and love that Arthur gave me, the innocence of our old relationship seemed long gone. That was what scared me that no one was here to discover us or exploit our relationship, it seemed almost _too_ open.

Back in our chamber's Arthur went straight to the bed. It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that he fell asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow, because that is exactly what happened. Pulling his shoes off his feet and throwing a light blanket over him, I left for a moment to change. The corset wasn't nearly as hard to get on as to get off, and the small mercy of the light night dress brought a contended sigh to my lips as I felt the silk glide down my aching body and touch the ground softly.  
>When sleep did come that night, it was not a particularly lonely one. Elaine, little Gwen, Elyan and Arthur all addled in my dreams and did not rest their comings and goings in my mind till morning.<p>

**Any ideas why Elyan was acting that way? Could it be due to someone's presence…? ;)  
>I'm still taking guesses as to who little Gwen's faaaaather is… *hint hint* haha.<br>Hope you liked it anyways.  
>Not one of my favourites so far, but I hope it isn't too disappointing after the days it's taken me to update.<br>Action to come soon, perhaps a little more romance, though I try to stay true to the show in that department due to the fact that they are not yet married on t.v and I haven't got much to go by with their married life. Except Wikipedia which is just totally not reliable ;)  
>So, thanks for your patience guys, my holidays start this coming Saturday and will continue for two weeks. Then off to last term, and another 7 weeks of Christmas holidays :D<strong>

_x, Isabella._


	5. His presence

_**Oh my! I'm so sorry it's been ten days!  
>Well, I finished my school term about 6 days ago, and been on holidays since Saturday. I'm so sorry, I just haven't had the time.<br>Don't worry, this isn't just an AN, here's the next chapter of My Love (:  
>-Isabella.<strong>_

I awoke early that morning. My face was slick with water, reaching up, I touched my forehead. Sweat, I had woken up in a cold sweat.  
>The maid walked in the room then. Curtseying at the door, she walked in slowly with a tray of food. Stll confused, I took it from her gratefully. Arthur still hadn't woken up, so when she tip toed quietly over to the window, the sudden burst of light as she pulled the big draped curtains back roused him quickly. Before he could open his eyes to figure out who had broken his peaceful sleep, the maid scuttled from the room with lightning speed. She'd obviously been around when Arthur was Prince; he always yelled obscenities at whoever was responsible for waking him up. Despite my conditions, I smiled a little to myself as Arthur's head shot around the room looking for the already gone maid. Finally, his eyes rested on me.<p>

"Gw- Guinevere! Are you okay? You've broken out in a sweat." He rested his hand on my forehead. A look of confusion flashed across his face. "No temperature. Did you have a bad dream?" I hadn't thought of that. Recognition formed on my face, and Arthur sighed, pulling me to his chest. "What is it that has you worried, my Queen?"

I chuckled in spite of myself. "I really do not know. I don't remember having a dream last night, but the room does not feel hot at all." True, the bedroom was at a cool temperature, and, looking out the windows I could see that it had rained during the night. Puddles littered the city streets and the new drain pipes had a fresh flow of water trickling along them and into the old lake. I yawned; this dream had obviously taken all my energy from me.

"Shall I take you to Gaius? He may have a tonic to help you sleep." I shook my head no. Arthur smoothed my unruly hair down with his hand. His other traced light circles on my back, causing me to shiver.

"I will be fine. Just a bad dream, nothing to worry about. I appreciate your concern though; you're too kind to me." I smiled, reached up and kissed him tenderly on the lips. Just the softest touch and I already seemed to want more. Looking into his eyes as I pulled away from him, I could tell he was feeling the same. Once I'd gotten off the bed and about five metres from him, I felt I could take a proper breath. It was shaky, but I managed to make my way from him over to the bath where I pulled the door shut behind me quietly.  
>Undressing quickly, I washed and dried myself in a matter of minutes. Reaching for the change of clothes the maid had kindly put over the towel railing, I changed swiftly into the turquoise dress with ease. Checking over my appearance in the mirror, I took a deep breath and opened the bathroom door. Unfortunately, the lusty feelings still plagued my mind, and for a moment I was thankful that Arthur did not appear to be in the room. The calm was short lived.<p>

Less than a second later, I felt a hand weave around my waste and pull me into a broad chest. Gasping, I looked up and met Arthur's beautiful blue eyes. He had a slight mischievous grin on his face, his hair artfully messy. Gulping loudly, I wasn't given much more than a few seconds to recover before he bought his lips down to mine with a passion that rivalled my own. Instantly, I could taste the sweet honey of his lips; feel the warmth of his tongue as it begged for entrance. Complying, I sighed contentedly into his mouth and he shivered as my breath washed over his tongue. Smiling under his lips, I deepened the kiss by reaching up my hands and tangling them into his hair. Once they had a firm grip, I pulled his face closer to mine, bringing our lips closer than I thought possible. I felt his teeth graze hesitantly across my bottom lip, nipping at it slightly as he littered little kisses across my mouth. Eventually, the burden of needing air pulled me away from his lips, and I gulped it in greedily, waiting for it to fill my lungs and keep me from passing out right then and there. Arthur obviously had stronger lungs than I, as he slid both arms around my waist, pulled me closer to him and proceeded to kiss me teasingly across my face, down my neck, along my shoulders…

Before we went too far though, I reached for his face and pulled it up to my level. His eyes stopped my words; they were darker than usual, smouldering with lust and love. His breathing was fast and shallow, his lungs giving their last desperate pleas for him to take in oxygen. My head finally came to, and my mouth formed the words I'd thought of the whole time. Well, the three words.

"I love you." It was barely a whisper, but it crossed the small distance between us with ease. His breath caught, and his hand reached up to cup my cheek.

"And I love you, Guinevere- more than anything. Never forget that." The sincerity in his voice almost knocked me off my feet. The intense longing made itself comfortable between the love and lust he had in his eyes. I smiled.

So you can imagine my annoyance when the door opened and in came little Gwen.  
>"I am so very sorry your highness but there is a riot in the city. People are dying."<p>

We froze.

_**Aww, I'm so sorry it's not a very good chapter at all. I had to rush things to get it up on fanfic. I promise the next one will be better, and with a bit of action instead of all this lovey sappy dovey stuff (:  
>thank you guys for waiting so long.<br>-Isabella.**_


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